Eight Five One

As most people know, April is a big month in the Dolezal family.

Today is our 8th Anniversary! Matt and I have known each other since we were 17, and the years just keep getting better.

After all, we have done some pretty great things together---three of those things being this:

Tomorrow our Maya will be 5 years old. I can't believe she will be going to Kindergarten in August. She has grown up to be such a beautiful girl! Happy Birthday, Maya!

The day after Maya's birthday is of course Laila's first birthday! She is such a joy and has almost mastered the art of walking. She is talking more everyday and even says 'Maya' with ultimate perfection. Happy birthday, baby girl.

Let the CELEBRATIONS begin!!!!!!!!

A thought...

I follow shadows of you

while automobiles circle, search, screech relentlessly,

and bright blue tricycles never stop.

The beckoning of denial thrashes silently,

embroidered onto our tongues,

and screams between my ears (all the while).

The ebony shadows plummet

further between us.

I am blind.

And I want you to discover my eyes,

the way they change in the city light;

they change for you.

Life has become rain

and we drift under street lamps,

falling into gutters no one sees.

We embrace something effortlessly

that chills our bones

and frosts our fingertips--

a metamorphosis of sorts,

eager to leave our cocoons,

dancing with virgin wings.

Me, following the shadows of your flapping,

your being, your silent destruction.

And you, never looking back.

-Sarah K Dolezal 3-23-10

Going places...

So, first things first. I am not an an island anymore. I know my blog is stillonanisland, which seems so contradicting, but I sort of feel like I'm on an island in this place (minus the mountains and beautiful ocean views, oh and the palm trees). But, figuratively speaking, I don't know anyone and I feel a bit secluded and cut off from the rest of the world. Thank goodness for my GPS, it really gets me places! But, so far so good. We really like it here and it's starting to feel more like home every day.

We arrived at the Nashville International Airport on January 30th. It was a Saturday night and about a 3 1/2 hour plane ride from SLC. We left Rexburg early that morning and drove the four hours to Salt Lake City, and immediately went to the airport to check in. There was about an hour to kill before the flight and a random lady asked if she could take pictures of my girls. HA! She was boarding the flight to Nashville and I could tell by her thick accent she was definitely from the South. The woman kept telling me how beautiful my kids were (as if I was unaware), and how the light was just so perfect since the sun was almost setting through the windows. Her name was Tamara and she was very sweet. She could tell my kids were bored, she was bored....and I was glad to have them do anything, really...anything. On the plane, one of the flight attendants handed me a burned cd and told me it was from the lady in first class. Some of the pictures turned out really great.

When we got to the airport we had to wait an hour for them to shovel walkway for us to exit the plane. Then they decided it was too icy and dangerous and we waited about 30 minutes to taxi somewhere else that had a breezeway to walk through. Finally around midnight we were able to exit the plane and head to baggage claim. The kids were exhausted, the baby was crying, we were all hungry, and we had ten bags waiting for us at baggage claim. Yes, ten. I wanted to cry. While Matt was waiting for our bags, I took Laila to find the Limo service that was supposed to take us the 45 min to Ft. Campbell. Apparently the classy Limousine service people leave at 11:00 and their desk was empty. I went to the rental car counters and no one had a car available. What compact car will fit five people, ten bags, plus carry-ons anyway? I heard someone from the back yell, "Looks like ya'll gonna be sleepin here with us tonight." Oh no, that was not going to happen. We couldn't get a taxi, we called a bus service, we couldn't get anything or anyone to take us. Some of the highways were just closed because they weren't plowed and the highways looked like parking lots (so we were told). I went back upstairs to find Matt. He had two carts full of our bags and the girls were lying down next to them. Everyone from our flight had left and the next flight of people were already standing around waiting for their bags. They were staring at us as I told him I had no idea what we were going to do. He called people from his unit and was notably upset as he explained the situation. We decided to move to a remote area so we could discuss everything, which turned out to be the worst idea ever. Skylar was pushing the stroller with Laila, I was pushing one of the carts stacked with bags, and Matt pushed the other. Suddenly, one of the bags became unbalanced on my cart and they all started to fall on poor Skylar in front of me. Can you imagine what this must've looked like? DISASTER! She started screaming and burst into tears. Then Maya started crying, and naturally....Laila began to cry too. Normally, this might have been comical, but given the days events and the situation, it was traumatic. It's not that Sky was really hurt, but she was so tired, as we all were. I just stopped and hugged both girls and started to take Laila out of her stroller. At that point I just lost it and burst into tears myself! It was literally the worst day ever (but soon would be the funniest) and I just couldn't hold it together. Out of no where a really nice woman came over to me and put her arms around me as her husband helped Matt put the bags back on the cart. Of course this made me cry harder because she was being so nice. She helped us move away from the crowd that wouldn't take their eyes off of us. Can you blame them? Train wreck! She asked how she could help, how we were getting home, and did I want her to hold the baby? I told her I didn't know and that we were stuck and started crying even more. You should've seen Matt's face. All four of his girls were crying! Poor guy. It's so funny looking back on the moment, but it was so terrible at the time. The nice woman offered to get us a rental car or find us a way home, but eventually everything worked out. We finally were able to get someone to pick us up and take us to Ft. Campbell (200 dollars, many phonecalls, and many hours later). We finally made it to our hotel around 3 a.m. What a way to start out our adventure in Tennesse!

And now as it is nearing the end of March, life is finally slowing down. We found a house, put Skylar in school, made it to our new ward, and even took a surprise trip to Tulsa to see Matt's family. We also had to stop in St. Louis to pick up our cars. And finally, finally, things are starting to settle. Matt is headed back to the desert in September (to Afghanistan) and we are just trying to enjoy being a family for as long as possible. I'm back blogger world, I'm back!

Out of the frying pan...into the cold

Our vacation has officially begun! We arrived in Idaho a few days before Christmas and will be here until the end of January, when our adventure will take us to Nashville and onto Ft. Campbell. Rexburg welcomed us graciously with it's snowy weather, brisk wind, and below zero temperatures. When there was finally enough snow I asked the girls if they wanted to go sledding. Maya had a confused look on her face so innocently replied, "What's sledding?". My little island babies are getting a brand new look at the world. Papa gave the girls their first taste of sledding by tying a rope from the tractor to a sled and pulling them behind.

Skylar was brave enough to go over the icy bridge down the big hill on her stomach

Maya thought it would be better if daddy came down the scary hill with her.

Hold on tight!!!

The weather here is a tad bit different from Hawaii

I decided to join in the fun and wore my dad's coveralls that were 3 sizes too big (but were exceptionally warm).

Our little snow bunny all bundled up

Student of the Month!

I am finally catching up on my blogging and writing about the things worth mentioning. In November Skylar was Student of the Month and we are so proud of her. At 6 1/2 she is an amazing little girl with so many talents. It's hard to believe my little girl is growing up so fast.

She was sad to say goodbye to her friends and teachers at Solomon, but is looking forward to starting at a new school and "meeting new crushes" as she so eloquently put it.

Our top five. . .

As our second deployment has come to an end, Matt and I have been reflecting on just WHY it is so great that he is home (besides the obvious reasons, family togetherness, being alive, etc etc.). So for all of those wondering, here are a few things we are grateful for. . .

top 5 reasons Matt is grateful to be home (in no particular order of importance)

1. Showers without shoes. In Iraq they are required to wear 'shower shoes', aka flip-flops, while they shower. Apparently it's annoying to wear shoes in the shower.

2. A pillowtop mattress. No springs in the ribs while sleeping is a definite bonus!

3. The commissary with an endless supply of food and possibilities. Food is a way to this man's heart.

4. Civilian clothes. It makes him feel like a person! He can decide to wear the polo with the stripes, or the ugly flourescent yellow t-shirt he's had since High School, either way...he gets to choose.

5. No sand storms!

Top 5 reasons it is nice to have a husband again

1. There is someone to watch the kids while I _____ (insert anything here---go to the gym, get a pedicure, get my haircut, go to the dentist, take a nap, attend enrichment night, any verb phrase will do!)

2. Because I now can say "Go ask your dad" to any question, demand, or request that my kids come up with.

3. Not having to brave the commissary alone with three kids in tow (or carry armfuls of groceries into the house, while all three simultaneously have a meltdown from the torturous task of grocery shopping). I can just go by myself (gasp!), or send Matt, or we can make it an FHE event and all go together!

4. Sundays period.

-I don't have to sit alone during sacrament meeting, there is someone to help entertain the kids, take them potty, escort them to the water fountain, color with, etc etc etc. If the baby is hungry, I can leave to go feed her, and I dont have to take her sisters with!

-I don't have to watch football alone! (assuming I indulge in a little post-church football--Go Giants!)

-And there is someone else to eat my Sunday pot roasts (and/or other delicious Sunday dinners)

5. Being able to breathe again. Anyone who has ever lived without their significant other for any amount of time knows the heavy feeling that comes over you when they leave. The burden of doing everything alone, while supporting someone you love who is fighting overseas, can be overwhelming and down-right impossible some days. Having him here I can finally breathe , and there is someone to help lighten the load of everyday life again. Matt was only gone a total of 10 months (instead of the regular 12). We were fortunate enough to have him home for the very end of my pregnancy and for the birth of our 3rd daughter.

All laughter and joking aside, of course the best part about having Matt home is this:

Being together as a family!

Welcome Home Daddy!

September 19, 2009--The Homecoming!

It has been three weeks since Matt stepped off the plane and back into our lives again. It feels incredible to be together as a family. When he is here, it makes me wonder how I ever did it without him. Life has been busy since he arrived as we are preparing to make our move to Kentucky and/or Tennessee in December. Ft. Campbell is spread across both sides of the border, so it's a coin toss as to which state we will end up in. Here are a few highlights from his homecoming.

IS HE HERE YET??? (waiting...)

(tick, tock, tick, tock)
The soldiers marching in to the Rocky theme song
Happy little girls
Finally a family again

Welcome home Matt!!!